Publisher's Synopsis
The Islamic mystic Muhyddin Abu Bakr Mohammed bin Ali Ibn Arabi al-Ta'i alHatami (known as Ibn Arabi or Ibn al-Arabi) is among the key influential figures in Islamic history. He was born in 1165 AD (569 AH) in Murcia in al-Andalus, a medieval Islamic territory incorporating at its peak most of modern-day Spain and Portugal. Ibn Arabi descends from a great Arabic tribe, the Tay'a, in which he seems to take great pride, particularly in being a great grandson of the tribe's most renowned figure Hatam al-Ta'i, who died a few years before the advent of Islam in the seventh century AD. Hatam is well-known in Arabic culture and literature for his legendary hospitality and generosity, two of the most cherished and valued virtues among Arabs historically. Such virtues were vital to the people of the Arabian Peninsula during a time when many of them were forced to travel frequently through the predominantly dry and treeless desert. Thus, Arabs have always taken great honour in hosting guests and travellers passing by, especially those unknown to them. However, Ibn Arabi's grandfather exceeds most in this matter. He has always been considered the ideal of Arabic generosity and hospitality; hence, the well-established phrase 'he is as generous as Hatem' is often employed to praise someone who demonstrates the absolute best of hospitality.
